John Kerry

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Washington D.C. earlier this month.: Getty Images Photo.LAS VEGAS-U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Searchlight) had harsh words for presumptive Republican nominee John McCain this morning following a comment made by McCain on NBC's "Today Show."

Asked by NBC's Matt Lauer if he had a better estimate for when troops could return from Iraq, McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, said: "No, but that's not too important."

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Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) shakes hands with Obama volunteers before a Friday morning canvas.North Las Vegas- With less than a day to go before the Nevada caucuses, 2004 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) was in North Las Vegas today pumping up campaign volunteers for Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) before they set out for a morning canvas.

Kerry surprised many last week by coming out for Obama rather than his ’04 running mate, former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) or fellow senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY).

Kerry said that Obama had “more legislative experience that either of the other two” and pointed to the relative ages of other famous Americans when they left their marks on the country.

HENDERSON -- If you need a sign that the Nevada Caucuses are becoming more important each moment consider the news that John Kerry will campaign on behalf of Barack Obama in Nevada.

Details have not been released for his two-day campaign swing on Thursday and Friday.

In the wide open Democratic presidential contest a Nevada victory could help propel the winner into front-runner status before South Carolina votes a week later.

Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, endorsed Obama last Friday in South Carolina.

Sorry, but The Inside Edge can't resist going with this line about John Kerry's endorsement of Barack Obama for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination: "Kerry was for John Edwards before he was against him."

Kerry's endorsement of Obama continues a tradition of unsuccessful presidential candidates declining to endorse their Vice Presidential running mate for the presidency: in 2004, Al Gore endorsed Howard Dean, not Joseph Lieberman.

Nevada seems like the center of the political universe right now, as pundits from across the nation focus on the January 19 presidential caucuses. After next Saturday, there will surely be a lull in political activity here – but expect that to be only temporary. Competition later this year for Nevada’s five electoral votes will be intense.

In the last four presidential elections, no other states have had as many close races as Nevada:

• 2004: George W. Bush over John Kerry, 50%-48%
• 2000: George W. Bush over Al Gore, 50%-46%
• 1996: Bill Clinton over Bob Dole, 44%-43% -- a margin of just 4,690 votes
• 1992: Bill Clinton over George H.W. Bush, 37%-35%

Retired Gen. Merrill "Tony" McPeak will stump for Barack Obama in Nevada this week.: Getty Images PhotoRetired four-star General Merill “Tony” McPeak will be making four campaign stops in Nevada today and two more tomorrow on behalf of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. The events are billed as the “Commander in Chief” tours of Northern and Southern Nevada.

McPeak was Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force from 1990-1994. He will be speaking today in Elko, Battle Mountain, Winnemucca, and Lovelock, then will be coming to Pahrump and Boulder City tomorrow.